Three-way reclining chairs are well known to the prior art. Such chairs generally include a stationary base, a relatively moveable seat, backrest, and footrest. A linkage mechanism for interconnecting the base, seat, backrest and footrest typically includes a linkage assembly mounted on each side of such chairs, with each linkage assembly having a seat linkage, backrest linkage and footrest linkage. The seat is mounted to the base by the seat linkages for movement relative to the base between a normal seating position, an intermediate or TV position, and a full-recline position. The backrest is mounted to the backrest linkages for movement relative to the seat between a generally upright position and a reclining position where the backrest extends at an incline relative to the seat. The footrest linkages mount the footrest for movement relative to the seat between a fully retracted position adjacent the seat and a fully extended position projected forwardly from the seat.
Traditionally, such recliner chairs have been specialty furniture items which were primarily designed for comfort, not styling. In many cases, they occupied special status in the home as they did not conform to the existing styling of other furniture items in the home. However, the evolution of reclining chair styling in home interiors has progressed to the point where today it is of major concern. Thus, in many instances, it is desirable for such recliner chairs to look more like a regular chair, with a shallow front-to-back and thin seat and high (i.e., more visible) legs. However, with the seat in the normal seating position and the footrest in the fully retracted position, three-way reclining chairs typically have bulkier seat sections than standard chairs in order to accommodate and hide the linkage mechanism. In addition, the legs of such reclining chairs are kept short to prevent giving the chair an overall high profile. A lower profile makes it easier for a person to get in and out of the chair. Therefore, there is a need for three-way reclining chairs with a linkage mechanism which allows the chair to have a shallower and thinner seat section and longer, more visible legs while still maintaining an overall low profile.
Prior reclining chairs have used tension springs in their linkage mechanism in an effort to maintain the footrest in the fully extended position or in the fully retracted position, when the footrest has been so positioned by the chair's user. However, when the chair is designed for the footrest to be manually extended or manually retracted, the strength of the tension spring can determine whether or not a customer is satisfied with the chair. If the spring tension is too great, extending or retracting of the footrest may prove difficult, particularly with respect to extending of the footrest since the user's weight can be more easily applied to help retract the footrest. While reducing the spring tension may solve this problem, this solution has its own problems. With a light spring tension, when the chair is moved by pulling rearwardly on the backrest, the footrest is more likely to extend, making further movement of the chair cumbersome. In addition, the footrest is more likely to unintentionally retract from the fully extended position due to the reduced resistance of the spring.
Therefore, it is desirable for such chairs to use tension springs with high strength, but to also include some way of assisting the user in moving the footrest, particularly in extending the footrest. One way of assisting the actuation of the footrest linkages has been with a handle actuated footrest assembly, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,305 to Hampton, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. However, the recliner chair disclosed in this Hampton patent still suffers from a relatively bulky seat section and includes a handle located externally on the side of the chair which also detracts from the aesthetic qualities sought by the present invention.